Oak Lawn Developments Could Preserve Dallas’ Gayborhood
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By Keith W. Hefner
Realtor and Dallas Resident
In 1970, Frank Caven opened his first gay bar, changing the landscape of Dallas and the Texas LGBTQ+ community forever, at a time when acceptance of homosexuality and frankly dancing too late in the evening was illegal in the city.
After many years, and many hard-fought battles for equality and acceptance, the community solidified around an area on Cedar Springs Road. Frank’s bars were set as an anchor point for the community, and a place for commerce to thrive.
The sense of community commonly known as the “Gayborhood” shows new generations not only our history but our future and how great life can be as an LGBTQ+ person in today’s society. Frankly, as this is being written, I think back to my first drag show so many years ago and can see how far I have come just because I had the opportunity to see a thriving community sitting in the back row in the Rose Room.
Unfortunately, 2020 has taken its toll on not just our community, but the businesses that support hundreds of workers, their loved ones, and families. The state mandate that closed all bars (which is still in effect as of this publishing) has caused financial constraints to become overwhelming. If it were not for the hard work, long hours, and quick thinking of a few bar managers, our community would still be locked down today.
As an effort to save the anchor of Oak Lawn, Caven Enterprises is working to partner with Pegasus Ablon to develop the parking lots behind TMC, S4, JR’s, and Sue Ellen’s into a residential and mixed-use property. This infusion of capital into our community will save the Cedar Springs “Gayborhood” as we know it, and preserve it for future generations.
If this project doesn’t pass zoning, planning, and permitting, the only alternative is to sell to another developer, which will plow over our neighborhood and end a 51-year legacy left to us by pioneers in the fight for acceptance and equality.
In a previous life, Keith W. Hefner was an award-winning photojournalist. Today, he’s a Realtor working to better the lives of Texans.
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“This infusion of capital into our community will save the Cedar Springs “Gayborhood” as we know it, and preserve it for future generations.” Unfortunately, no. Just as the Harwood International capital infusions did not save Little Mexico, no amount of capital infusions will save the “Gayborhood.” Much of the Gayborhood has already been lost, and the remainder will continue to erode until the only things left will be the Rainbow Crosswalk at the Crossroads, and the Love Monument at the Oak Lawn intersection. Then someone will erect a Historical Marker to remind the future generations what was once there. The Gayborhood was a cultural phenomenon, and that culture has moved on. This project is not a historical or cultural preservation effort–it is an economic development project that will allow Caven Enterprises to cash out their investment before their clientele completely disappears. You can dress this one up in all of the rainbow colors, but beneath the surface it’s all just about the green.
Bob is absolutely wrong on this. This is a method for caven to close their ESOP while offloading their land. This lease buy back arrangement allows caven to continue and to grow without the overhead of an ESOP.
In many cases Bob would be correct, but unfortunately in this case, he is not nor does he have all the facts about the inter workings of this deal.
I do not know the details of this deal, but they matter not. The end result is that Caven is giving up ownership of the land, in exchange for money it will receive. That is cashing out. Whether they can continue in business and grow is not the point. Your comment misses the larger point: that no deal can save the Gayborhood from the forces causing its identity to disappear.